Advocating for Communication Access for those with Hearing Loss – all Hearing Assistive Listening Systems: Hearing Loops, FM or IR Assistive Systems, Wi-Fi or Captioning - and Bluetooth when it is Available
On behalf of Minnesotans with hearing loss, Loop Minnesota thanks the Minnesota Commission for the Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH), the Minnesota Broadcasters Association as well as all of the stations who donate valuable airtime for making this Telecoils and Hearing Loops PSA possible.
Thank you for helping raise awareness on this important technology, which can greatly ease the understanding of speech in loud places. The following 30 seconds might change lives – for better hearing and maybe for embarking on a mission of telecoils and hearing loops advocacy.
So, what does listening through telecoils and hearing loops sound like? Try this sound demonstration taken in a New York Subway station, which is a very difficult sound environment. For now, the only way to understand speech-in-noise more clearly is by means of telecoils and hearing loops.
Pretty amazing! I remember the first time that I listened through a loop by means of my hearing aid telecoil. No more straining to understand. The Loop Minnesota website has a list if loops in and around Minnesota. Would it not be wonderful to grow that list?
In the end, it is up to those with hearing loss to determine what they want and what helps them. Again, thank you to all who make it possible for people to learn about this technology with a much-needed Telecoils and Hearing Loops PSA.
Equitable access means that those who need extra accommodation get the help they need. Equal access, or what everybody else gets is often not enough.
For equitable access to communication, those who are hard-of-hearing need boosted sound signals and reduction of background noise in order to hear and understand clearly in noisy venues and businesses. PA (Public Address) systems, 2-way microphone intercoms and even hearing aids are not enough.
Fortunately, the type of technology that facilitates inclusion of the hearing-challenged in lecture rooms, museums, places of worship, convention halls and even at information desks and teller windows exists.
Assistive listening systems made of hearing loops and telecoils can deliver sound clarity beyond one’s wildest dreams. Telecoils, or T-coils are wireless antennas that are installed by the manufacturers in many hearing aids and cochlear implants. They access professionally installed hearing, or induction loops.
Unfortunately, many who could benefit from this technology are not aware of it. Even among hearing specialists there is often bias against it. Do you know if your hearing aids have telecoils? Luckily, in spite of it all, hearing loops are now in higher demand than ever – in the United States and worldwide.
Back to the old ways? Time for change!
Once COVID simmers down, in-person meetings will be back. Where will that leave Minnesotans with hearing loss? Back to the old struggle of deciphering speech in noise? Back to isolation and depression over feeling excluded?
2022 – the year of inclusion and equitable access
And so, the time for equitable access to communication for those with hearing loss has arrived. Become involved.
Join Loop Minnesota and let 2022 be the year of hearing loops and telecoils. Let it be the year when Minnesotans learn a lot more about this technology and how it can help communication. Be an advocate for equitable access for yourself and for others. It takes all of us to make a difference because, oh my, there is so much to do in 2022!
Happy Holidays and the Best of Hearing ever in the New Year!!
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To learn more about all sorts of topics on ears and hearing, visit my website at hearing-loss-talk.com
Improved hearing and understanding: A matter of communication access
Hearing loops and telecoils work together to help hearing-challenged people hear and understand speech more clearly and effortlessly, especially in loud places. Therefore, Advocacy for hearing loops and telecoils means standing up for communication access for those with hearing loss.
Yet, way too many people do not know about the advantages of these universal, non-proprietary communication systems – what they are or how they work. Advocacy can change this by educating and spreading the word to others with hearing loss as well as within the communities at large.
So what is advocacy?
Advocacy may simply mean standing up for oneself or speaking out on things that must be changed in some way. However, raising an issue and making a case on their own can be hard for people. Those with hearing loss may prefer to connect with groups that advocate for Hearing Loop systems as well as for assistive technology in general, such as Loop Minnesota.
Advocacy for Hearing Loops!
Hearing loops – also called Induction loops – can raise the SNR (Speech-to-Noise Ratio) to levels that hearing aids by themselves cannot do. Even with changing technology, loops are to this day the only means for connecting many people to the same sound source in large venues such as meeting rooms, churches, convention halls etc. Besides, they work the same way worldwide!
Hearing loops come in all sizes covering small rooms such as TV dens as well as whole arenas. Desk top or countertop versions are designed to ease communication for daily living. They make businesses accessible at customer service windows, check-out counters, bank teller windows etc.
The telecoil or T-coil connection
Hearing loops are accessed by means of wireless antennas, called telecoils or T-coils. They are located in most hearing aids, cochlear implants and in portable devices. In hearing instruments, the telecoils must be activated and tuned by the instrument specialist at the time of purchase and the client must be instructed in their use.
The telecoils tap into the magnetic energy field generated by an activated hearing loop. Background noise is greatly diminished or even eliminated. A speaker’s voice becomes clearer and listening less tiring.
And so, hearing loop and telecoil work together as a communication system. They are a team. One without the other is worthless. And this is why we must advocate for both.
Advocacy for telecoils!
Do you know if your hearing aids have telecoils? Were you ever told about them? Some States have a mandate that requires that patients be informed about the use of telecoils when they buy hearing instruments. Minnesota has an acoustics & hearing loop mandate but not a T-coil mandate. At least not yet.
And so, we must inspire our State audiology and HID (Hearing Instrument Dispenser) groups to inform clients about all of their communication options.
Also, hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturers must be encouraged to keep installing telecoils in their instruments. Email, Tweet – whatever works.
In the end, it is up to us. In so many ways, improved access to communication rests with our hearing loss communities – what we need and want and for what we are willing to stand up.
Note: Any links to websites are for information and illustration only. Loop Minnesota does not favor one brand, manufacturer or distributor over others.
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Also visit my website hearing-loss-talk.com where I post blogs on all sorts of issues concerning hearing loss.
The “T” in the above pictures stands for Telecoil. It tells people to activate their telecoils because the venue has a hearing loop. Do your hearing aids have telecoils? Most people do not know and have no clue what telecoils actually are and why they may be important.
Telecoils are wireless antennas that are already manufacturer-installed in most hearing aids and in cochlear implants. They help people access hearing loops that are installed in many venues across the United States. Click to check on your State. By the way, loop locator lists may not be complete due to inconsistent reporting on installations.
If there is no loop, one might ask why not?
If you have telecoils, call the venue that you will visit ahead of time to inquire about loop access.
That said, hearing loops can be accessed by anyone who has a telecoil-equipped device, such as a loop listener or even telecoil-enabled headsets or earbuds.Hearing loss, hearing aids or cochlear implants are not required to hear clearly through a loop.
A matter of communication access.
Unfortunately, the telecoil issue is often not discussed with patients during hearing aid consults and fittings. Many specialists deem hearing loops to be “old” technology that confuses clients and that does not merit a lot of time.
Of course, this limits people’s communication access choices and options when in reality installers report that they notice an increase in demand for hearing loops. Does your State have a requirement for State-funded building projects ─ for new buildings and for remodels ─ to implement good acoustic design and hearing loops in public gathering spaces? Minnesota does. Why would one accept to stay locked out communication-wise when States actually try to help?
And so, now that you know, ask about telecoils.
The specialist has to “activate” them for them to work. Also, get instructions on how and when to use them. Hint: Look for the blue signs with the T!
Learn about Hearing Loops and advocate for them.
The cooperation between telecoils and correctly installed and conformity-certified hearing loops are so far the only way for getting crisper and clearer sound in larger and often noisy venues such as places of worship, conference rooms, convention centers etc. Hearing loops are non-proprietary and work with the telecoils in any hearing aid brand.
With COVID still about, right now would be a good time to plan ahead for the time when society opens up again. Who knows? Maybe now is also the time to get an advantageous installation deal?
One thing is for sure: There is no time like the present to start growing the “Loop Lists”. We want to see lots and lots of blue “Loop” signs.
Note: Loop Minnesota does not favor one manufacturer/distributor or product over another. Website links are for information and illustration only.
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, communication challenges of all kinds have turned into an acute issue for those with hearing loss. Speechreading (lipreading) has become impossible during these times of social distancing, masked outings and muffled conversations. Being talked to through plastic or glass partitions contributes to the further dulling of sounds.
As society gradually reopens ever so hesitantly, continued distancing and mask requirements will remain in effect and so will the communication hurdles. Sitting up front, close to the speaker is a thing of the past. “Up close” is a lot further back these days.
Now is the time to advocate for communication access
Wouldn’t it be nice to connect via telecoil or T-coil to hearing loops installed at bank and pharmacy windows, at information desks, in class rooms, libraries, places of worship and in health facilities? Gone would be the background noise and speech would be so much easier to understand – without the struggle, the fatigue and the embarrassment. Hearing loops are especially helpful in large, noisy venues such as convention and meeting rooms.
It is often said that anybody who has ever listened to speech through a correctly installed hearing loop does not want to turn back. As we go forward into a shaky communication future, it is more important than ever for people with hearing loss to get involved and to stand up for communication access. Let’s not be left out – again!
The problem is that many people do not know much – or anything at all -about this technology. Non-proprietary hearing loops are different from proprietary, short-distance Bluetooth. A hearing loop is a special electrical wire that is installed throughout or around the area that is to be made accessible.
Telecoils or T-coils are tiny wireless antennas that can be found in cochlear implants, hearing aids and hearing devices large enough to accommodate them. They allow the user to tap into the sound energy carried by the magnetic field that surrounds a hearing loop that is in active service. Together, loops and telecoils act as assistive listening “systems.”
Do your hearing aids have telecoils?
Find out! Now is also the time to ask hearing specialists if the hearing aids that you plan to buy – or have already bought -have telecoils. Most people do not know because they have never told about them. Yet, in order for them to work, the hearing specialist must “activate” the telecoils and tune them to the hearing needs of the client. He/she must also instruct the client on how and where to use them.
The future of access is up to the people
In the end, do people with hearing loss want to be connected and included as communication snags pile up? If yes, it is time to act. Hearing loops do not magically appear. The technology needs advocates and believers who make the case for much-needed accessibility.
And so, what will our communication future look like? As President Abraham Lincoln told us “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” And the time to become “creative” and motivated is now.
Monique Hammond, VP Loop Minnesota
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Also, visit my website: hearing-loss-talk.com. I blog about all sorts of topics related to hearing and hearing loss.
